Manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing electronic monolithic ceramic components

ABSTRACT

A manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing electronic monolithic ceramic components, including a sheet supplier for supplying a plurality of ceramic green sheets of a plurality of types in a predetermined order, and a laminator for laminating the ceramic green sheets supplied by the sheet supplier. A plurality of trays is set in two vertical columns in a rack which is vertically movable. Each tray holds a stack of a plurality of ceramic green sheets of the same type. A particular tray positioned to a predetermined level by the vertical movement of the rack is drawn by a tray drawer device, and one ceramic green sheet is picked up from the tray, and is then conveyed to the laminator. The utilization efficiency of area in the sheet supplier is thus increased.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to manufacturing apparatuses formanufacturing electronic monolithic ceramic components and, moreparticularly, to a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing anelectronic monolithic ceramic component having a laminate that is formedby laminating a plurality of ceramic green sheets of a plurality oftypes in a predetermined order.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] When electronic monolithic ceramic components such as amultilayer ceramic board, a monolithic ceramic capacitor, and amonolithic ceramic inductor are manufactured, a step of laminating aplurality of ceramic green sheets of a plurality of types in apredetermined order is performed.

[0005] The ceramic green sheets laminated in the above-mentionedlamination step are supplied by a sheet supplier which typically sorts,and stacks a plurality of sheets according to the type.

[0006] For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 9-104016 discloses an apparatus which produces a laminate bysupplying a plurality of ceramic green sheets of a desired type from asheet supplier and by laminating the supplied ceramic green sheetsaccording to a predetermined order.

[0007] The sheet supplier in the above-disclosed apparatus sorts ceramicgreen sheets of a plurality of types according to the type and preparesthe ceramic green sheets ready to be supplied, and the plurality ofceramic green sheets is sorted according to the type while beingarranged on a planar surface.

[0008] For this reason, the utilization efficiency of area in the sheetsupplier is low, and the area needed to install a sheet supplierincreases to meet the requirement for a diversity of ceramic greensheets to produce a desired electronic monolithic ceramic component.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The object of the present invention resolves the above-mentionedproblem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide amanufacturing apparatus for manufacturing an electronic monolithicceramic component.

[0010] The present invention is directed in one embodiment to amanufacturing apparatus for manufacturing electronic monolithic ceramiccomponents, including a sheet supplier for supplying a plurality ofceramic green sheets of a plurality of types in a predetermined order,and a laminator for laminating the ceramic green sheets supplied by thesheet supplier, and an embodiment of the present invention has thefollowing feature to resolve the above-described problem.

[0011] The sheet supplier of the manufacturing apparatus includes aplurality of trays for sorting and holding the plurality of ceramicgreen sheets of the plurality of types according to the type, and a rackfor setting the plurality of trays in a vertical direction in alignment.Each of the trays is drawable from the rack, and each of the trays holdsthe plurality of ceramic green sheets of the same type stacked one aboveanother.

[0012] The manufacturing apparatus further includes a tray drawer devicefor drawing the plurality of trays according to a predetermined order,and a conveyor device for picking up a single ceramic green sheet fromthe drawn tray and then conveying the ceramic green sheet to thelaminator.

[0013] Preferably, the rack is raised and lowered in a verticaldirection, and the tray drawer device draws a tray which is positionedat a predetermined height through the upward and downward movement ofthe rack.

[0014] Preferably, the conveyor device includes a chucking device forchucking a topmost ceramic green sheet of the stack of the ceramic greensheets in the tray for conveyance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the layout of major work areasprovided by a manufacturing apparatus 1 for manufacturing electronicmonolithic ceramic components in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

[0016]FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, and is a plan view showing thegeneral layout of the manufacturing apparatus 1;

[0017]FIG. 3 is a front view generally showing the construction of themanufacturing apparatus 1;

[0018]FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a step for obtaining a ceramic greensheet 20 supplied from the sheet supplier 2 shown in FIG. 1;

[0019]FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a modification of the step forobtaining the ceramic green sheet 20;

[0020]FIG. 6 is a plan view showing via holes 25 and conductive films 27formed in the ceramic green sheet 20;

[0021]FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing part of a rack 7 arranged inthe sheet supplier 2 shown in FIG. 1;

[0022]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a single tray 8 set in the rack 7shown in FIG. 7;

[0023]FIG. 9 is a side view showing the operation of a tray drawerdevice 13 shown in FIG. 2;

[0024]FIG. 10 is a plan view explaining the construction of a cornercutter 3 shown in FIG. 1;

[0025]FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the corner cutter 3 shown in FIG.10;

[0026]FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C are cross-sectional views showing thecorner cutting operation of the corner cutter 3 shown in FIG. 10 andFIG. 11;

[0027]FIG. 13 shows the modification of the operation of a cutting edge36 shown in FIG. 12;

[0028]FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a laminator table 10 shown in FIG.2;

[0029]FIG. 15 is a front view showing the laminator table 10 shown inFIG. 14;

[0030]FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a first modification of thelaminator table 10;

[0031]FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a second modification of thelaminator table 10;

[0032]FIGS. 18A, 18B, and 18C show an upper mold 46 arranged in acompression bonder device 11 shown in FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 18A is a topview of the upper mold 46, FIG. 18B is a front view of the upper mold 46together with the laminator table 10, and FIG. 18C is a bottom view ofthe upper mold 46;

[0033] FIGS. 19A-19E are a front view showing the operation of the uppermold 46 shown in FIGS. 18A-18C;

[0034]FIG. 20 is a front view showing a modification of a compressionbonder device;

[0035]FIG. 21 is a front view showing the state in which an under sheet45 is peeled off a laminate 53; and

[0036]FIG. 22 is a plan view showing a step of cutting the peripheralportion of the laminate 53.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037]FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the layout of major work areasprovided by a manufacturing apparatus 1 for manufacturing electronicmonolithic ceramic components in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0038] The manufacturing apparatus 1 includes, as the work areasthereof, a sheet supplier 2, a corner cutter 3, a laminator 4, acompression bonder 5, and a film discharger 6, and the work areas arearranged as shown in FIG. 1. Specific jobs carried out in the work areas2 through 6 will be discussed later.

[0039]FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, and is a plan view showing thegeneral layout of the manufacturing apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a front viewgenerally showing the construction of the manufacturing apparatus 1.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 1, the elements shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 arediscussed, and the sheet supplier 2 is provided with a rack 7. In therack 7, a plurality of trays 8 holding ceramic green sheets to bediscussed later are arranged in two parallel columns.

[0041] The corner cutter 3 includes a corner cutter table 9.

[0042] The laminator 4 includes a laminator table 10.

[0043] The compression bonder 5 includes a compression bonder device 11.

[0044] The film discharger 6 includes a film discharge tray 12.

[0045] A tray drawer device 13 is provided to work with the rack 7.

[0046] To convey the ceramic green sheets, a first chucking device 14and a second chucking device 15 for chucking the ceramic green sheetsthrough vacuum suction for conveyance are arranged.

[0047] The laminator table 10 reciprocatingly moves between the positionthereof shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and the position thereof at themounting location of the compression bonder device 11, and rails 16 arearranged to guide the movement of the laminator table 10.

[0048] The tray drawer devices 13 are used to draw the trays 8, andrails 17 and 18 are arranged to guide such a drawing operation of thetray drawer device 13. The tray drawer device 13 arranged to work withthe rail 18 is not shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

[0049] The first chucking device 14 reciprocatingly moves between thetray drawer device 13 and the corner cutter table 9, the second chuckingdevice 15 reciprocatingly moves between the corner cutter table 9 andthe laminator table 10, and a rail 19 is provided to guide the movementsof these devices.

[0050]FIG. 4 shows ceramic green sheets 20 to be held in the trays 8 setin the rack 7 placed in the sheet supplier 2.

[0051] Referring to FIG. 4, a carrier film 21 as thick as 50 mm isprepared, and by applying a slurry of ceramic on the carrier film 21,the ceramic green sheet 20 is produced. To form the ceramic green sheet20, a doctor blade method, a die coater method, a roll coater method,etc. may be used.

[0052] The thickness of the formed ceramic green sheet 20 falls within arange of 10 mm to 300 mm, and a plurality of types of green sheets 20having different thicknesses is prepared depending on the design ofdesired electronic monolithic ceramic components.

[0053] The ceramic green sheet 20 lined with the carrier film 21 isstored in a roll, although not shown. The ceramic green sheet 20 is paidout from the roll, and is cut along a cut line 22 together with thecarrier film 21 to a size of 150 mm by 150 mm, for example.

[0054] The ceramic green sheet 20 thus cut to the predetermineddimensions as described above has a plurality of pin insertion holes 23and a plurality of reference holes 24, which also penetrate the carrierfilm 21. The pin insertion holes 23 and the reference holes 24 areconcurrently opened using a die or a laser. In this way, no positionaldeviation takes place between the pin insertion holes 23 and thereference holes 24.

[0055] The pin insertion holes 23, each having a diameter of 3 to 5 mm,are opened on the peripheral portion of the rectangularly cut ceramicgreen sheet 20, specifically, at each corner and in the edge portionnear the four sides of the ceramic green sheet 20. In this embodiment,five pin insertion holes 23 are arranged along each side of the ceramicgreen sheet 20 within an inward area of 3 to 7 mm from each side of theceramic green sheet 20.

[0056] The reference holes 24, each having a size of 1 mm, are openedwith one at the center of each edge portion near each side of therectangularly cut ceramic green sheet 20.

[0057] In the step described with reference to FIG. 4, the pin insertionholes 23 and the reference holes 24 are opened after cutting the ceramicgreen sheet, but alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the pin insertionholes 23 and the reference holes 24 may be opened in the ceramic greensheet 20 paid out from the roll and then the ceramic green sheet 20 maybe cut to the predetermined dimensions. As shown in FIG. 5, elementsidentical to those with reference to FIG. 4 are designated with the samereference numerals and the discussion thereof is not repeated.

[0058]FIG. 6 shows a ceramic green sheet 20 cut to the predetermineddimensions. The ceramic green sheet 20 is then subjected to severalprocesses depending on the design of a desired electronic monolithicceramic component.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 6, via holes 25 are opened and then filled withan electrically conductive paste 26, and a conductive film 27 having apredetermined pattern is formed by printing an electrically conductivepaste. The filling of the via holes 25 with the electrically conductivepaste and the formation of the conductive film 27 may be performed atthe same step or may be performed at different steps.

[0060] The electrically conductive paste 26 filling the via holes 25 andthe electrically conductive paste for the conductive film 27 containcopper, nickel, and silver, or silver and palladium as an electricallyconductive material.

[0061] A laser or a die is used to open the via holes 25.

[0062] To fill the via holes 25 with the electrically conductive paste26, the electrically conductive paste 26 is preferably applied with thevia holes 25 kept in a negative pressure state, and the application ofthe electrically conductive paste 26 may be performed on the side of thecarrier film 21 with a mask applied on the carrier film 21 or may beperformed on the side of the ceramic green sheet 20 using screenprinting technique.

[0063] A CCD camera monitors the formation of the via holes 25, thefilling of the via holes 25 with the electrically conductive paste 26,and the formation of the conductive film 27 by sensing the referenceholes 24 and using the reference holes 24 as a position reference.

[0064] There are some ceramic green sheets 20 having a conductive filmonly, and other ceramic green sheets 20 having via holes filled with noelectrically conductive paste. Some ceramic green sheets 20 have neitherconductive film nor via holes.

[0065] The ceramic green sheets 20 subjected to the above-describedprocesses are sorted according to the type of process and the thicknessthereof, and are placed into the respective trays 8 as shown in FIG. 7and FIG. 8, and the trays 8 are set in vertical columns in the rack 7.As already discussed, a plurality of trays 8 is vertically set in twocolumns in the rack 7 as best seen from FIG. 7.

[0066] The rack 7 is housed in a frame 28, and is vertically raised andlowered using a lift mechanism (not shown). With the rack 7 raised andlowered, a particular tray 8 is moved to a predetermined level. Each ofthe trays 8 holds a plurality of ceramic green sheets 20 of the sametype. By laminating ceramic green sheets held in a plurality of trays 8in a predetermined order, a laminate of a desired electronic monolithicceramic component is produced.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 7, the utilization efficiency of area isincreased by setting a plurality of trays 8 in the rack 7, and withoutthe need for increasing the area of the sheet supplier, themanufacturing apparatus handles a diversity of ceramic green sheets 20to produce a desired electronic monolithic ceramic component.

[0068] In the embodiment shown, the plurality of trays 8 is arranged intwo columns in the rack 7, but the number of columns may be one or maybe three in the rack 7.

[0069] To pick up a desired ceramic green sheet 20, the tray drawerdevice 13 draws a particular tray 8 holding a desired ceramic greensheet 20 as shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 shows the tray drawer device 13 indetail.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 9, the rack 7 is raised or lowered asrepresented by an arrow 29 to a level as high as the tray drawer device13. A chuck 32 travels along a rail 31 that extends in a directionrepresented by an arrow 30, and at one end of the travel, the chuck 32is raised in a direction represented by an arrow 33, and pins providedon the end of the chuck 32 are mated with the tray 8. In succession, thechuck 32 travels in an opposite direction along the rail 31, therebydrawing the tray 8.

[0071] In this state, the previously-mentioned first chucking device 14vacuum-chucks the topmost ceramic green sheet 20 in the tray 8 to conveyit to the corner cutter table 9.

[0072] A ceramic green sheet 20 immediately beneath the topmost ceramicgreen sheet 20 vacuum-chucked by the first chucking device 14 mayelectrostatically adhere to the topmost ceramic green sheet 20, and thatsecond ceramic sheet 20 may also be picked up together. To prevent this,the first chucking device 14 has preferably the following construction.

[0073] The chucking device 14 vacuum-chucks the ceramic green sheet 20near opposed edges of the ceramic green sheet 20 and temporarily placesthe chucking points closer to each other at the moment of lifting theceramic green sheet 20 to cause the ceramic green sheet 20 to sag. Thesagging ceramic green sheet 20 forces the ceramic green sheet 20therebeneath to separate therefrom.

[0074] After the first chucking device 14 picks up the ceramic greensheet 20, the chuck 32 travels along the rail 31 to put the tray 8 backto the rack 7. The first chucking device 14 lowers the chuck 32 in thedirection represented by the arrow 33, disengages a lock pin 34 from alocking state thereof, and moves along the rail 31 out of the rack 7 tobe on standby.

[0075] On standby, the first chucking device 14 is ready to start anoperation to draw a next tray 8, and the time required to pick up theceramic green sheet 20 is thus shortened.

[0076] As described above, the tray 8 is put back into the rack 7 afterthe desired ceramic green sheet 20 is picked up, and no tray is placedbelow the conveyance path of the first chucking device 14, and thisarrangement reduces the possibility that the ceramic green sheet 20 inthe tray 8 is contaminated with dirt falling in the course ofconveyance.

[0077] In this embodiment, the ceramic green sheet 20 lined with thecarrier film 21 is handled with the carrier film 21 facing upward.Referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, each of the ceramic green sheets 20 heldin the tray 8 is thus covered with the carrier film 21.

[0078] When the ceramic green sheet 20 is picked up, a processor unit(not shown) stores beforehand data concerning the types of, thelamination order of, and the number of ceramic green sheets 20 requiredto produce a laminate of a desired electronic monolithic ceramiccomponent, and the processor thereby causes the tray 8 holding arequired ceramic green sheet 20 to be drawn, and the first chuckingdevice 14 to pick up the ceramic green sheets 20 one by one.

[0079]FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show the corner cutter 3 of FIG. 1. FIG. 10and FIG. 11 also show the corner cutter table 9 of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

[0080] The corner cutter 3 cuts and removes the four corners of theceramic green sheet 20 lined with the carrier film 21. As a result, thecarrier film 21 only remains at the four corners. The four corners ofthe carrier film 21 enable the carrier film 21 only to be gripped, andthe carrier film 21 is thus peeled off the ceramic green sheet 20 bypicking the carrier film 21 only in a peel step to be discussed later.

[0081] Pressure plates 35 are arranged above the corner cutter table 9.The pressure plates 35 are movable upward and downward. When movingdownward, the pressure plates 35 press the ceramic green sheet 20downward against the corner cutter table 9.

[0082] The corner cutter table 9 on the four corners thereof are cutaway, forming bevels 9 a, and a cutting edge 36 is arranged to bealigned with the bevel 9 a. The operation of the cutting edge 36 isshown in FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C.

[0083] When the cutting edge 36 is raised, only the ceramic green sheet20 at the four corners thereof are cut with the carrier film 21remaining intact as shown in FIG. 12A.

[0084] Referring to FIG. 12B, the cutting edge 36 laterally slides in adirection represented by an arrow 37, thereby removing each corner 38from the ceramic green sheet 20. As a result, the carrier film 21extends at the four corners thereof.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 12C, the cutting edge 36 is placed back to theoriginal position thereof.

[0086] Referring to FIG. 13, the cutting edge 36 may be pivoted or swungabout a predetermined pivotal point in a direction represented by anarrow 39.

[0087] The corner cutter 3 checks to see if the ceramic green sheet 20mounted on the corner cutter table 9 needs laminating. For this reason,each ceramic green sheet 20 bears a mark indicating the type thereof.For example, such a mark is shown in a bar code. The bar code is printedat the same time as the previously-mentioned conductive film 27.

[0088] A bar code reader 40 is arranged below the corner cutter table 9to read the bar code, and the corner cutter table 9 has a window 41where the bar code comes to.

[0089] Instead of the bar code, or in cooperation with the bar code, aplurality of punched holes arranged in a code may be opened in theceramic green sheet 20. The holes may be opened together with thepreviously-mentioned via holes 25 when the via holes 25 are opened. Thepunched holes may be monitored by a camera, for example.

[0090] In this embodiment, the thickness of the ceramic green sheet 20placed on the corner cutter table 9 is checked. As shown in FIG. 11, acontact type dial gauge 42 is arranged above the corner cutter table 9.The dial gauge 42 measures the thickness of the ceramic green sheet 20on the corner cutter table 9 by touching a measuring probe 43 to theceramic green sheet 20, or more exactly, to the carrier film 21 on thecorner cutter table 9.

[0091] The main purpose of the thickness measurement is to see if aplurality of ceramic green sheets 20 happens to be picked up by thefirst chucking device 14 from the tray 8 and happens to be undesirablystacked on the corner cutter table 9.

[0092] The thickness measurement may be performed using a non-contacttype measurement device such as a laser displacement device.

[0093] When the bar code or the punched holes on the ceramic green sheet20 indicating the type thereof are inappropriate, or when the thicknessof the ceramic green sheet 20 is inappropriate, the ceramic green sheet20 is removed from the corner cutter table 9.

[0094] The reading of the bar code or the punched holes and thicknessmeasurement by the dial gauge 42 may be performed substantially inparallel or sequentially one after the other.

[0095] In this embodiment, the comers of the ceramic green sheet 20 arecut on the corner cutter table 9 subsequent to the checking of theceramic green sheet 20, but alternatively, the checking step for theceramic green sheet 20 may be performed in a place other than the cornercutter 3, and thereafter only the ceramic green sheets 20 that havepassed the check may be conveyed to the corner cutter 3.

[0096] The ceramic green sheet 20 having undergone corner cutting on thecorner cutter table 9 is transported on the laminator table 10 by thesecond chucking device 15 as already discussed.

[0097] The previously-mentioned first chucking device 14 may be used totransport the ceramic green sheet 20 from the corner cutter table 9 tothe laminator table 10 with the second chucking device 15 dispensedwith.

[0098]FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are respectively a plan view and a front viewof the laminator table 10.

[0099] The laminator table 10 has bevels 10 a with the four corners cutaway. A plurality of guide pins 44 are arranged on the laminator table10. The guide pins 44 are to be respectively inserted into the pininsertion holes 23 opened in the ceramic green sheet 20, and have thesame layout as that of the pin insertion holes 23.

[0100] The diameter of the guide pin 44 is substantially equal to thediameter of the pin insertion hole 23, and as already discussed, whenthe diameter of the pin insertion hole 23 is 3 to 5 mm, the diameter ofthe guide pin is also 3 to 5 mm. If the guide pin 44 is substantiallysmaller in diameter than the pin insertion hole 23, the alignmentaccuracy of the ceramic green sheet 20 is degraded, and conversely, ifthe guide pin 44 is larger in diameter than the pin insertion hole 23,the guide pin 44 cannot be inserted into the pin insertion hole 23, andan insertion attempt of the guide pin 44 may damage the ceramic greensheet 20 in the vicinity of the pin insertion hole 23.

[0101] Each of the guide pins 44 is preferably tapered toward the endthereof.

[0102] Since the guide pins 44 are supported in such a manner as to moveupward and downward relative to the laminator table 10, the guide pins44 take the projected state thereof as shown in FIG. 15 and the unshownretracted state thereof.

[0103] When a plurality of ceramic green sheets 20 is laminated on thelaminator table 10, an under sheet 45 not shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 ispreferably arranged on and in contact with the laminator table 10. Theunder sheet 45 is shown in FIG. 19A-19E, FIG. 21 and other figures. Theunder sheet 45 is fabricated of a plastic sheet having a surfaceroughness, for example.

[0104] The laminator table 10 preferably has a means for fixing theunder sheet 45 thereon. The under sheet 45 is fixed on the laminatortable 10 using an adhesive means, vacuum chucking, or a mechanicalmeans.

[0105] When the under sheet 45 is fixed on the laminator table 10through vacuum chucking, a plurality of suction holes is opened in thelaminator table 10, and the under sheet 45 is vacuum-chucked onto thelaminator table 10. The cross-sectional shape of the suction hole may bediscretionary, and has preferably a diameter within a range from 0.4 to1.0 mm. If the diameter is smaller than 0.4 mm, a machining process fordrilling the suction hole becomes difficult, and resulting chuckingpower is not sufficient, and if the diameter is larger than 1.00 mm, thesuction hole print remains on the ceramic green sheet 20, making theceramic green sheet 20 aesthetically unacceptable or damaging theceramic green sheet 20 in extreme cases.

[0106] The layout of the guide pins 44 in the laminator table 10 isdetermined to be in alignment with the layout of the pin insertion holes23 in the ceramic green sheet 20, and when the layout of the pininsertion holes 23 is modified as shown in FIG. 16 or FIG. 17, the guidepins 44 are arranged accordingly in the laminator table 10.

[0107] Referring to FIG. 16, the guide pins 44 are arranged with one ateach of the four corners and with one at the center of the edge portionof each side, and as a result, three guide pins 44 are arranged at eachside of the laminator table 10.

[0108] Referring to FIG. 17, the guide pins 44 are arranged with one ateach of the four corners and with two offset to the center of the edgeportion of each side, and as a result, four guide pins 44 are arranged.

[0109] The guide pins 44 are arranged in such a manner as to prevent theceramic green sheet 20 from being deformed in a compression bonding stepto be discussed later.

[0110] As already discussed, the ceramic green sheet 20 that hasundergone the corner cutting step in the corner cutter 3 is thenconveyed to the laminator 4 by the second chucking device 15, and isthen laminated on the under sheet 45 on the laminator table 10. Eachtime the laminator 4 completes lamination, the laminator table 10 ismoved along the rails 16 to a position below the compression bonderdevice 11 of the compression bonder 5.

[0111] Referring to FIGS. 18A-18C, there is shown an upper mold 46provided in the compression bonder device 11 of the compression bonder5. FIG. 18A is a top view of the upper mold 46, and FIG. 18B is a frontview of the upper mold 46 together with the laminator table 10, and FIG.18C is a bottom view of the upper mold 46.

[0112] The upper mold 46 is generally driven in a vertical direction. Aportion of the upper mold 46 constitutes a movable section 47, which islaterally movable to be separated from the rest of the upper mold 46.

[0113] Provided on the underside of the upper mold 46 is a compressionbonding member 48 having a compression bonding surface. Referring toFIG. 18C, the compression bonding member 48, with a planar shapesubstantially identical to that of the laminator table 10, has bevels 48a with the four corners thereof cut away. The compression bonding member48 has on the compression bonding surface thereof relief holes 49 thatreceive the guide pins 44 projecting from the laminator table 10.

[0114] Provided on the underside of the upper mold 46 are grippingmechanisms 50 and 51 facing the respective bevels 48 a of the fourcorner of the compression bonding member 48. The gripping mechanisms 51out of the gripping mechanisms 50 and 51 are arranged on the movablesection 47.

[0115] The gripping mechanisms 50 and 51 are substantially identical toeach other in structure, and respectively include chucks 52 for grippingthe corners of the carrier film 21, and the chuck 52 is openable andclosable to release or to grip the carrier film 21, and is movable indiagonal lines to approach and go away from the compression bondingmember 48.

[0116] FIGS. 19A-19E show the operation of the upper mold 46 of thecompression bonder device 11.

[0117]FIG. 19A shows the laminator table 10 in its position shiftedbelow the upper mold 46. The ceramic green sheet 20 having predetermineddimensions and lined with the carrier film 21 is placed on the undersheet 45 on the laminator table 10. The ceramic green sheet 20 and thecarrier film 21 are aligned with the laminator table 10 with the guidepins 44 received by the pin insertion holes 23. The ceramic green sheet20 has no corners because it has undergone the corner cutting step inthe corner cutter 3.

[0118] Referring to FIG. 19B, the upper mold 46 is lowered, and thecompression bonding member 48 presses the ceramic green sheet 20. Thechucks 52 of the respective gripping mechanisms 50 and 51 move in such amanner to receive the corners of the carrier film 21 and then closethemselves to grip the corners of the carrier film 21.

[0119] Referring to FIG. 19C, the upper mold 46 is raised. Since thechucks 52 of the respective gripping mechanisms 50 and 51 grip thecorners of the carrier film 21, the carrier film 21 is peeled off theceramic green sheet 20 as the upper mold 46 is raised.

[0120] Referring to FIG. 19D, the chucks 52 of the gripping mechanisms50 are opened to release the carrier film 21. On the other hands, thechucks 52 of the gripping mechanisms 51 continuously grip the carrierfilm 21.

[0121] Referring to FIG. 19E, the movable section 47 laterally moveswith the chucks 52 of the gripping mechanisms 51 continuously grippingthe carrier film 21. At the end of the travel, the carrier film 21 ispositioned above the film discharge tray 12 arranged in the filmdischarger 6 shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 3. At the end of the travel,the chucks 52 of the gripping mechanisms 51 are then opened, releasingthe carrier film 21 into the film discharge tray 12.

[0122] The laminator table 10 is then moved back to the laminator 4 asshown in FIG. 1 to be on standby for laminating a next ceramic greensheet 20.

[0123] The process from the picking of the ceramic green sheet 20 fromthe tray 8 to the compression bonding of the ceramic green sheet 20 tothe peeling of the carrier film 21 as discussed above is repeated untila desired electronic monolithic ceramic component is produced.

[0124] In the above-described compression bonding step, the ceramicgreen sheet 20 is preferably heated to a temperature within a range from40 to 100° C.

[0125] Further, in the compression bonding step, the ceramic green sheet20 is put under a pressure within a range from 200 to 350 Kg/cm². Inthis case, conditions applied on the ceramic green sheet 20, such ascompression time and pressure, may be modified depending on the typesand quantities of a ceramic material and a binder contained in theceramic green sheet 20, the peel property of the carrier film 21, thearea of the conductive film 27 formed on the ceramic green sheet 20, andthe lamination order of a current ceramic green sheet 20 among alllayers.

[0126]FIG. 20 shows a modification of the compression bonder device. Asshown in FIG. 20, elements identical to those described with referenceto FIGS. 18A-18C and FIGS. 19A-19E are designated with the samereference numerals, and the discussion thereof is not repeated.

[0127] The compression bonder device 11 a shown in FIG. 20 has a topsidedown version of the compression bonder device 11. Specifically, theupper mold 46 holds the laminator table 10, and arranged below thelaminator table 10 are the compression bonding member 48 and thegripping mechanisms 50 and 51.

[0128] As discussed above, when lamination of the ceramic green sheet 20required to produce a laminate is completed, the laminate 53 (see FIG.21 or FIG. 22) is taken out together with the under sheet 45. When thelaminate 53 is picked up, the guide pins 44 arranged on the laminatortable 10 are lowered for retraction. This is intended to prevent theguide pins 44 from erratically interfering with the laminate 53 when thelaminate 53 is discharged.

[0129] The discharged laminate 53 with the under sheet 45 attachedthereto is cooled to room temperature, and then the under sheet 45 ispeeled off as shown in FIG. 21. In this way, the laminate 53 isprotected from unwanted stretch or deformation.

[0130] Referring to FIG. 22, the laminate 53 is diced along cut lines 54to remove areas including the pin insertion holes 23 and the referenceholes 24 therewithin. In a press step to be performed later, this dicingstep prevents the laminate 53 from being stretched or deformed by thepresence of the pin insertion holes 23 and the reference holes 24.

[0131] The laminate 53 is then placed on a press die assembly composedof an upper punch and a lower notched die, although not shown, and thena press step using a rigid-body press is performed on the laminate 53,thereby pressing the laminate 53 in the direction of lamination.

[0132] By increasing the pressure applied in the compression bondingstep, the press step may be skipped.

[0133] The laminate 53 is diced by a dicing saw or a cutting edge toobtain a laminate chip for individual electronic monolithic ceramiccomponents.

[0134] The laminate chip is then sintered. External surfaces, forexample, end faces of the sintered laminate chip are coated with anelectrically conductive paste including an electrically conductivecomponent such as copper, silver, nickel, or the like, and is thendried, and baked to form external electrodes. The external electrodesare then plated with nickel and/or tin, as necessary.

[0135] To form the external electrode, an electrically conductive pastemay be applied on the laminate chip prior to sintering, and baking forforming external electrodes may be performed concurrently with thesintering of the laminate chip. In this case, the electricallyconductive paste for forming the external electrodes is preferablyfabricated of an electrically conductive paste containing substantiallythe same component as that for the electrically conductive paste 26filling the previously-referenced via holes 25 and the electricallyconductive paste forming the conductive film 27.

[0136] In this way, a desired electrical monolithic ceramic component ismanufactured.

[0137] As described above, to manufacture electronic monolithic ceramiccomponents, a sheet supplier for supplying a plurality of ceramic greensheets of a plurality of types in a predetermined order to a laminatorfor laminating the ceramic green sheets includes a plurality of traysfor sorting and holding the plurality of ceramic green sheets of theplurality of types according to the type, and a rack for setting theplurality of trays in a vertical direction in alignment, and for thisreason, the utilization efficiency of area in the sheet supplier ishigh, and the manufacturing apparatus handles a diversity of ceramicgreen sheets to produce a desired electronic monolithic ceramiccomponent.

[0138] In accordance with this invention, each of the trays can be drawnfrom the rack, and the manufacturing apparatus further includes the traydrawer device for drawing the plurality of trays according to apredetermined order, and a conveyor device for picking up a singleceramic green sheet from the drawn tray and then conveying the ceramicgreen sheet to the laminator, and thus after a desired ceramic greensheet is picked up, the tray is placed in the rack. Since the tray isplaced in the rack during the conveyance of the ceramic green sheet bythe conveyor device, there is a low possibility that the ceramic greensheet in the tray is contaminated with dirt falling in the course ofconveyance.

[0139] In accordance with the present invention, the rack is raised andlowered in a vertical direction, and the tray drawer device draws a traywhich is positioned at a predetermined height through the upward anddownward movement of the rack, and the tray drawer device is thusoperated at the predetermined height, and components associated with thetray drawer device are of a simple construction.

[0140] In accordance with the present invention, the conveyor deviceincludes a chucking device for chucking a topmost ceramic green sheet ofthe stack in the tray for conveyance, and a single ceramic green sheetis easily picked up from among a plurality of ceramic green sheets ineach tray.

What is claimed is:
 1. A manufacturing apparatus for manufacturingelectronic monolithic ceramic components, the manufacturing apparatuscomprising: a sheet supplier for supplying a plurality of types ofceramic green sheets in a predetermined order, the sheet supplierincluding a plurality of trays, each tray being adapted to sort and holdat least one ceramic green sheet, the plurality of ceramic green sheetsbeing sorted and held in the plurality of trays according to type, arack for vertically aligning the plurality of trays, and a tray drawerdevice for drawing trays from the rack according to a predeterminedorder; a laminator for laminating the plurality of ceramic green sheetssupplied by the sheet supplier; and a conveyor device for picking up asingle ceramic green sheet from a drawn tray and conveying the singleceramic green sheet to the laminator.
 2. A manufacturing apparatus formanufacturing electronic monolithic ceramic components according toclaim 1, wherein the sheet supplier includes a drive for driving therack to be raised and lowered in a vertical direction, and wherein thetray drawer device is arranged to draw a tray from the rack when, as theresult of the rack being at least one of raised and lowered by thedrive, the tray is positioned at a predetermined height.
 3. Amanufacturing apparatus for manufacturing electronic monolithic ceramiccomponents according to claim 1, wherein at least some ceramic greensheets of the same type are stacked one above another in a single trayto form a stack of ceramic green sheets, and the conveyor devicecomprises a chucking device for chucking a topmost ceramic green sheetof the stack of the ceramic green sheets in the tray for conveyance. 4.A manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing electronic monolithicceramic components according to claim 2, wherein at least some ceramicgreen sheets of the same type are stacked one above another in a singletray to form a stack of ceramic green sheets, and the conveyor devicecomprises a chucking device for chucking a topmost ceramic green sheetof the stack of the ceramic green sheets in the tray for conveyance.